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« on: April 02, 2014, 07:50:52 pm »
Tech for the sake of tech?
Off to the AUS MX Nats with the VERi crew Sunday. A well run event and a great day out - but...............
One of the lads went off to buy a program and after a bit was back and looking a bit peeved - and without a program. It seems that there was no commemorative hard copy program available, but, there was an app available to purchase with all the info on the event available! Well, isn't that great!?
So many 'advantages' for this app, like, who can read from a screen in bright sunlight, or being busy scrolling through pages to ID a rider by number while the action flashes past you unnoticed, or the phones battery flatlines, or there's no coverage to download the wonderful app (until you get home after the event). My phone won't even accept an app. Gone up to a rider lately and asked if it was OK for them to sign your phone, please?
The race teams understand their markets. All had glossy print pamphlets of their stars on their brands bikes. Kids love that. We handed out flyers and posters for the POBBB to kids and adults who had no idea of what it was all about but they all loved the print. Adults and kids alike were wandering about with rolls of posters and adverts and stickers! Kids LOVE pictures and still plaster their walls with pages from mags and posters and anything that they can look at to remind themselves of the day and the feeling of participation in a BIG day out for them. Tell me how an app is going to do that? Print has persistence and is a reminder at a glance, while an app will be scrolled past or deleted or become inaccessible as technology advances. Ever wondered why we have pics of the kids/bikes/important emotive images on our walls instead of nailing up our phones there?
I hope that promoters don't continue this trend of exclusive live streaming and pervasive apps - the spectators need to be encouraged to attend, hyped that they are attending something special, to be close to the competitors. The buzz is for technology to be a totally immersive milieu, but the only truly immersive environment is reality. The event sponsors know touchy feely is prime marketing.
I'm no Luddite and I understand the economics involved in trying to make a dollar but there are times when holding a physical reminder of your passion should not be counterbalanced by cost and the involvement of pop tech in an otherwise visceral experience.
Promoters, don't drop the ball.
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. This'ns built as a rider (with period patina and character lines) and apart from a few odds'n'ends is about ready to roll. Be nice to be able to get a bike more than 25% complete to start with for a change to make life a little easier 
So........anyone got one they'd like to sell? Puhleez?
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